One Piece: ASL Pirates Special: Episode of Ace
by Hotspot the 626th
Summary: Portgas D. Ace. He is the adopted brother of Monkey D. Luffy and Sabo. He is the son of the Pirate King, Gold Roger. His crew before coming to Loguetown include Taro, Jamie, Lotus, and Jacques. They are all unique, strong, and are great nakama. They have all journeyed far to get where they are now, but how did they come together. That is where our story begins. Corresponds with ASL
1. Arguement over a Boat?

**Author's Note: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Here's the first of the 'Episode's that correspond with One Piece: ASL Pirates. Each crew member with get like two, maybe three, chapters per introduction. To those who gave me their OCs, I had to expand and even change how Ace and Sabo meet each of their crew members. I'll try to keep the core of how they meet though.**

**Disclaimer: One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda-sama, Shonen Jump, and FUNimation. Please support the official release. OCs were generously given to me by their respective owners.**

**Now, enjoy!  
**

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**One Piece: ASL Pirates Special**

**Episode of Ace**

To Prove Ones Existence!

Ace Sets Out, And an Argument over a Boat?

"Luffy!" shouted Ace as he and Sabo reached out to try and stop Luffy from being executed by his enemy, Buggy. The pirate clown laughed with glee as he swung the sword downward towards Luffy's next.

_This is Portgas D. Ace. He is the adopted brother of Monkey D. Luffy and Sabo. He is the son of the Pirate King, Gold Roger. His crew before coming to Loguetown include Taro, Jamie, Lotus, and Jacques. They are all unique, strong, and are great nakama. They have all journeyed far to get where they are now, but how did they come together. That is where our story begins._

Three years earlier…

It is a sunny day for Dawn Island. At the coast of Midway Forest, located between Terminal Grey and Mt. Colubo, a large group of people had gathered. A younger Ace – age 17 – is leaving to start his journey. The Dadan family, Woop Slap and Makino, and finally Sabo – age 16 soon turning 17 – and Luffy – age 14 – were seeing the young man off.

"Good luck out there Ace!" shouted Luffy waving his arm.

"Don't get caught by the marines, ya here!" Sabo said with a light-hearted warning.

"You just wait!" shouted Ace back to the coast. "I'll make a name for myself in no time!"

"Dear me…" grumbled Woop Slap. "What will old Garp say…?"

Standing beside the old man, Makino heard his grumblings and giggled. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Good-bye everyone! I'll see you all soon!" shouted Ace as his small boat sailed further away from Dawn Island and his friends and family. Ace then turned and looked out towards the wide ocean before him. The young man then smiled. _'Watch out, everyone. I am Portgas D. Ace and I'll prove that I was born!'_

And thus, Ace adventures in the East Blue begin!

* * *

Some days later, that same boat continues to sail through the ocean; however, the boat doesn't appear to be in good shape. It appeared to have taken extensive damage. Young Ace sits against the side of the boat looking exhausted. "Damn… It's just one thing after another. First that whirlpool, then a storm, and then that island of cannibals. Why do I have the worst luck?"

The young man then looked up into the sky. There were a few clouds, but it clear for miles. Images of Sabo and Luffy appeared in front of him. They both were smiling and laughing. Seeing those two soon gave Ace renewed energy. "But I won't give up!"

Ace stood up as he shouted. "You hear me? I won't give up no matter what!" As Ace shouted he soon caught sight of something. He quickly dug into his bag and brought out a spyglass. Through the spyglass he saw an island and what looked to be a town.

"Yes! My luck is changing." Ace grinned in excitement. As he was about to row his boat towards the island, he felt something from his shoes. He looked down to see that his boat had sprung a leak.

"Shit!" Ace shouted as he begun frantic pattern of rowing and dumping water out.

Those working on the docks had never seen such a sight. A newcomer was sailing into port, but the young man was on the top of the mast holding his stuff and the mast. The rest of his boat was already submerged. It amazed them that a boat could still sail while mostly underwater. Astounding them even more, the boat soon stopped right at the dock. The young man then quickly jumped onto the dock. At this point, an old man was walking over to him.

"Just barely made it." Ace said sounding relieved.

When he was ready to stand, he found an old man in front of him. The old man had a grouchy serious expression on him. "To dock will cost you five belis, sir."

"What?" Ace said surprised. The old man then pointed to his mostly submerged boat. Ace snorted. "You can have it! You try sailing that piece of crap!"

The old man was flabbergasted by Ace's attitude. "Excuse me, sir, but you must pay the fee!"

Ace growled. "Fine." Ace tossed the jerk a few beli coins to the old man.

After checking the money, the old man's sour disposition soon turned into a warm smile. "Thank you, sir. And welcome to Port Town."

As the man left, Ace grunted under his breath. "Stingy, old fart." Ace then grabbed his stuff and walked into Port Town.

We find Ace now sitting on a bench somewhere in town. The young man was sprawled out relaxing with his stuff nearby. No one paid him much mind as they walked past him. Eventually, Ace had finished his moment and sat up. "Well, with my boat out of commission, I'll probably need a new one."

Ace dug into his is bag to reveal a few paper belis. He counted them, but he didn't seem too happy. "Maybe I can get a boat with this much?"

Ace then heard his stomach grumble. "Or enough to get a meal." Ace then began an internal debate; whether to eat or not to, to spend it on a boat or not to.

Ironically, an Imaginary Sabo and Luffy appeared as his voices for his conscience. Sabo shouted, "You need a boat to get to your next destination, Ace."

"No! Get some meat! I'm hungry!" shouted Imaginary Luffy in conjecture.

"Luffy…Ace is the one hungry." Imaginary Sabo said to Imaginary Luffy. He then turned to Ace. "You can always hunt or fish for your food."

"Food now!" shouted Imaginary Luffy.

"Luffy…" Imaginary Sabo said warningly.

"Food!"

"Shut up!" Ace shouted out loud. The people walking by were stunned by the young man's outburst. Ace soon realized his foully and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry." The man said giving his apology to the people. The people accepted his apology and continued on their way.

"Um, excuse me." Ace soon stopped one of the people, a man with his girlfriend or wife. "Could you tell me where I can find a place to buy a boat?"

"Yes, just go down that road and when you reach the docks go right there's where the shops are." The man said pointing to a road nearby.

"Thank you." Ace grabbed his stuff and rushed towards the shop. Following the directions he was given Ace soon found the shops.

There were many shops and all of them lined the docks for what seemed like forever. "Well, better start with the first shop." Ace went into the firs shop, named Express Boats.

"Hello!" shouted enthusiastically a thin man with black hair styles like a ship steering wheel. "How may I help you, valued customer?"

"Eh, yeah. I'm looking for a boat." Ace said with a friendly smile.

"Very good!"

"What boat will this get me?" Ace said as he held up all the money he had.

"Well, let me see…" The man looked at the money. His happy expression then soured.

"Hey! Hey!" Ace found himself pushed out of the store by the same man. With on final push, the man fell onto the ground. Ace shouted, "Hey! What was that for?"

"Come back when you have more money." The man said in a snooty voice. He then turned and walked back into his shop.

"Oh yeah! I'll just find another shop!" shouted Ace as he stood back up. He was quite confident in himself.

Unfortunately, his confidence was quite misplaced. With each store he went, Ace was kicked out of each one for his lack of money. Oddly enough, they all asked for his money first before his eventual booting. He went down the dock repeating this process until eventually he came to the very end. He was completely exhausted by the quick disapprovals.

"This is the last one…"He was down to the last shop, and the furthest one away. The last shop was named Drifting Boats. It was the first not to have 'Express' in its name. Unfortunately, this building was not like the previous ones. This building was small, old, and looked to be falling apart.

Ace then went inside. It was just as bad if not worse than outside. There was even a smell to it. "What a dump!"

"Hey!" A female voice came from the back. Ace was surprised to see a young girl roughly his age. She had long yellow hair with two black hair clips holding a part of her hair away from her pretty face. Her outfit was a simple one of a white tank-top with tan-brown shorts. Her brown eyes showed her anger at Ace for whatever reason. She stomped on over to Ace and stared at him straight in the face.

"Drifting Boats is not a dump!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am. Sorry." Ace said with the utmost politeness. Those lessons with Makino has really stuck to him.

"You bet you are!" The young woman said as she backed off from Ace. "Drifting Boats focuses on craftsmanship, not quality of the store."

"Um, yeah…" Ace said agreeing with the girl so she would hopefully calm down. "I would like to buy a boat."

"Oh, you're a customer!" The girl soon changed moods becoming completely excited. "Here let me show you our boats. By the way, my name is Dory."

"Thanks, Dory." Ace said with relief.

He followed the girl into the back of the shop, which lead outside. Ace was shocked to find only one ship on the docks. "Um…"

"I know, I know, we're currently understocked." Dory said optimistically. "But this boat is one of our best."

Ace and Dory walked up to the only boat. Ace took notice of another person looking at the same boat. He was a tall, bronzed man with green eyes. He was very well built and had black hair that hanged down over his eyes. He wore a green vest without an undershirt, baggy brown pants, and green sandals. His hands were wrapped in bandages. On his right shoulder was a large, deep X-shaped scar. He seemed to be looking over the boat with a critical eye. Ace just paid attention to Dory.

"This is a Cuddy boat complete with a small kitchen and fridge. Up to four people can sleep in the cabin at any time. The steering is simple enough for one person to handle." Dory said explaining the unique features of the ship. It was pretty small, though bigger than a row boat.

Ace liked the boat. It seemed a bit old, but it showed a lot of character. It even had a cool fire-type design on the side. It looked just right to start a crew with. "I'll take it!" said Ace, but he was not the only one.

Ace looked behind. The man that had also been looking at the boat was turned towards Dory as well. Now, both men stated at each other. They both wanted the same boat. Doree soon stepped in between the two. "Um, let's not get hostile…"

"Look, buddy. I just came in today and my boat is sunk. I'll be taking this boat." Ace said politely though seeping with contempt.

"I was here first, friend." The man said not backing down.

"I can pay cash…" said Ace cockily.

"I can pay cash as well." The man said assuring it was true.

"I bet you don't even know how to sail."

"If you sunk your boat, then it's clear that you can't sail."

The man and Ace were practically butting heads by this point. They then turned to look at Dory. The young woman was nervous and couldn't say a thing. Then a door swung open as a short – very short – man with a large wooden mallet. He wore simple clothes and a white headband that drew little attention from his balding grey hair. The expression on his face showed anger as he shouted while swinging the mallet. "Get away from that boat! It's not for sale!"

"What?' Both men said confused.

The girl was appalled. "Master!"

"That boat is not for the likes of you!" shouted the old man in rage. He soon paused, in mid-step and mid-swing, and he fell to the ground flatly.

They gasped in shock. "Master/Old man!"

Sometime later, the three youths were around the old man as he sat in a chair. Dory spoke to the old man familiarly. "Master, you shouldn't get so riled up. It's not good for your health."

The old man sneered. "And you shouldn't be selling that boat! I've said this hundreds of times, it's not for sale."

"But it's our last one, and you haven't been able to make a new boat since…" Dory went silent before finishing her sentence. Ace could probably figure out that it had something to do with his health.

The old man however did not seemed troubled. "I'm fine, I'm just waiting for my son to come back is all."

"Um, excuse me…" Ace said speaking up. Dory and the old man turned to Ace. "Why can't you sell me the ship?"

"Or to me." The other man added still determined to get the boat.

"Because! Your nothing but brats!" shouted the old man rudely.

"Master!"

"These two have no respect for boats." The old man added stubbornly. He then looked at Ace. "I saw you come in today, that poor gave it her all to bring you to port and you would abandon her without a second's thought."

"Oi!" said Ace feeling insulted.

"And you…" The old man looked over the other man with the scar. "How did you come in?"

"I bartered a passage on a merchant vessel…"

"You didn't get here on your own skills, did you?!"

The man crossed his arms looking stubborn. "I've read how to do it…"

"That's not the same!" shouted the old man as he then bopped the man and then Ace on the head with his mallet. Both men fell to the ground rubbing their sore heads. "You two have no respect for a boat and the ones who craft them."

The old man then jumped off his seat and walked away carrying his mallet. Ace noticed and shouted out. "O-Oi! What about if I paid you to build one?!"

The man stopped and turned towards the young man. "How much you got?"

"A few beli." Ace said as he pulled out his cash.

The old man looked over it critically before scoffing. "That's not even close to my payment services." Ace's jaw dropped. "Why not go to one of those 'Express' shops. They'd take your money."

"They kicked me out of every store." Ace said rather sourly.

"The same has happened to me." The man said sounding quite angry.

The old man seemed somewhat surprised by their answers. As he was about to say something, someone spoke louder. "Drifter!" The voice belonged to no one in the group. They all turned to see two, big men in suits with a smaller man with the same steering wheel hairstyle that the other Express workers had. The only difference was his sharp facial features and nice purple suit. He had quite a grin across his face while his two men were straight-faced. "You ready to sell this dump yet?"

"I'm not selling, Yacht!" shouted Drifter defiantly. "You'll never get your slimy hands on my shop."

"You can't hold out forever, Drifter!" Yacht sneered in anger. "You haven't made a boat since your little 'incident'. If you sell to me, I'll pay you top dollar and you can retire."

"Who is that?" asked Ace softly whispering to Dory.

"That's the owner of the Express boats. They produce all the boats for Port Town and in some neighboring islands." Dory explained to Ace and the other man who was just listening in.

"Blah! A shipwright only retires when he has someone to pass his work down to. You'll never get this shop!" shouted Drifter stubbornly as he held his ground.

"Grr. Stubborn, old man." Yacht growled. He and his men turned around, but just before leaving he turned his head. "This shop will be mine, by any means necessary…" The man and his men then left.

"Stupid brat…even stupider than you two." Drifter said looking over at Ace and the other man. He then walked into the back remaining silent.

Ace and the other man were surprised by the man's stubborn attitude. As a show of respect, they decided to leave and not pester the man any further. Dory on the other hand did not seem all too well. "I'm sorry I couldn't sell you a boat." Dory said to the men as she saw them out.

"It's no problem." Ace said with smile. The other man nodded in agreement. "That old man though, he's quite stubborn."

"You don't know the half of it." Dory said with a giggle. But then she frowned. "I wish I could've sold you that boat…"

"Why is he so stuck on not selling that boat?' asked the man.

"Because his son made that boat." Ace and the man's eyes widen in surprise. Dory then continued. "When his son, Ketch, made that boat, he was so proud of him. He wanted to hand this business over to him, but Ketch wanted to improve his skills. A five years ago, he left to study from some of the best shipwrights in the world. Master let him go with great hope that he would return in a year or two, but he never did."

"How come?" asked Ace.

"I don't know, but everyone thinks he died trying to get into the Grand Line."

Ace and the man gasped. "He went to the Grand Line!" said both men in surprise.

"I don't know…" Dory said though looked quiet sad. "He hasn't sent Master any letters in years. Right after his third year gone, Master's health began failing. He couldn't make ships as fast as he used to. That's when Yacht came and began monopolizing boats in the area. And they stay in business by making their boats easy to break."

"That's horrible." The man said with a frown.

"I know, but everyone has no choice but to buy them. I've tried my best to make boats, but Yacht has his men break them before I can even get them in the water." Dory said frustrated and mad.

The two men looked at the young lady with frowns. They felt sorry for the nice girl and the old man. They soon said their goodbyes and the two left. As they walked down the dock, they both sighed defeated. "Looks like we're in the same boat, metaphorically speaking."

"Yeah…"

"Look, I know we didn't get along too well earlier, but no hard feelings right?" Ace said with a smile.

"Right, we were simply two men wanting a boat so we could travel." The man said with smile of his own.

"So, let's grab something to eat then." Ace offered as he swung around to be in front of him still smiling.

The man was surprised by the sudden offer, but with a rumble from his own stomach he couldn't help but relent. "Why not…"

"Awesome!" Ace threw his arm around the man and lead him into town. "Also, I never got your name?"

"My name is Taro…" said the man as he let Ace walk him down the street.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	2. That Boat is Mine!

**Author's note: Read, Review, Reach for the Stars *****! Enjoy!**

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**One Piece: ASL Pirates Special**

**Episode of Ace**

_Last time on One Piece: ASL Pirates Special, Ace had begun his pirate journey. Unfortunately, his journey so far has been unlucky. Before finally arriving at his first island, his boat sunk. He then went to see Drifter, a shipwright, to buy a boat, but was refused. There he meet Taro, who also wanted the same boat. Will either of them get the boat?_

That Boat is mine!

Determination that Spreads like Fire

It was nighttime for Port Town. The streets were lighted by street lamps though there were few people out. In a local tavern, Ace and his new acquaintance Taro were eating. The atmosphere in the tavern was quite lively. Both Taro and Ace were enjoying their meal. They both sat at the same table and ate what little food they could afford. Though it seemed Ace had quite a few more plates then what Taro had. The young man seemed a bit worried watching his partner eating without a care. Ace soon finished his current helping with content. Taro stared at Ace concerned and was about to say thing, but then Ace slammed his face into his plate.

"Gah!" shouted Taro in shock. His and Ace's actions caught the attention of everyone in the tavern. Taro looked to be rather frantic as he was not sure what to do.

Soon, management walked over to them. "Is there a problem?"

Taro looked at the manager helplessly. "My friend…he…I don't know?!"

The manager then looked over Ace. He looked concerned. "Is he…"

Ace then sat up shocking the manager and Taro. "Hey, Taro…Huh? Where'd he go?"

"You were faking!" shouted Taro mad.

"What?" Ace asked confused. Immediately, Ace fell face first into his plate again.

"What the hell?!" shouted Taro now furious. Management soon left seeing that everything was fine…mostly. Taro then sat Ace up and gave him a slap from behind his head. "Wake up!"

"Ow! What?" Ace asked confused and rubbing the back of his head.

"What was that? Falling asleep suddenly, and freaking me out." Taro said scolding Ace.

"Oh, sorry. That's happens…sometimes." Ace said rather bashfully.

Taro sighed not understanding the carelessness of the man he had just met. Soon, the bartender came over to give them their separate bills. Both men looked at their bills. Taro seemed okay about what his meal cost and thus accepted the bill. On the other hand, Ace looked to be rather nervous staring at his bill. Taro quickly noticed. "I told you to keep track, idiot."

While Ace was none too happy about Taro's comment, it did give him an idea. "Who are you calling an idiot?" Ace said as he stood up from his table threateningly.

Taro was a bit surprised by this sudden action. Before he could ask, Ace suddenly slugged the man. Taro was completely caught off guard by Ace's sudden attack. He swiftly retaliated with his own punch. No sooner did Taro punch back, the whole tavern exploded in one huge fight. As the fight progressed, Ace soon exited out through the tavern window with Taro in tow. Ace grinned in victory before making a dash away from the tavern. "Was that really necessary?" asked Taro as he now understood what Ace was doing.

"Yeah, I used to use that trick all the time to get out of paying with my brothers." Ace said shameless smile.

Ace dragged Taro a few more feet until they reached the docks. Once Ace knew that they were in the clear, he let go of Taro and rested. Taro soon recovered and begrudgingly sits next to Ace off the dock's edge. Ace noticed this and spoke, "Man, tough day right?"

"Let's see, I had been denied a boat several times, got yelled at by an old man, and got into a tavern fight. It's definitely been an interesting day." Taro said less than happy about the day's events.

Ace chuckled. "Yeah. But I must admit, you're strong."

"Thanks, but I'm not strong enough…" Taro said a bit downtrodden.

Ace looked at the man confused. He then watched as Taro as he dug into his pack and brought out a small notebook. He then began jotting down in the little book. "What are you doing?" asked Ace trying to see what was being written.

Taro quickly closed the book. "Sorry, but this is private."

"Alright…" Ace said as he turned away from Taro disappointed. Taro soon returned to writing in his book. As Ace looked back into town, he caught sight of something interesting. He then nudged Taro for his attention. "Hey, don't those guys look familiar?"

Taro turns to see what Ace was talking about. Walking down the docks was a group of suited and burly men. They walked not noticing Ace and Taro with a stern expression across all their faces. Ace turned to Taro with an expression of concern. Taro shared the same feeling.

* * *

Even at this hour the Drifting Boat shop was still open. There were quite a number of people out front with a number of broken boats placed off to the side. Handling the crowd as best could, Dory stood at the front jotting down each person's request. "One at a time please. One at a time." Dory said as she hurriedly scribbled.

"When is old man Drifter gonna get back to making boats?!" shouted one of the people.

"We're tired of having to by Express!" shouted another person. "They break far too often to be an accident!"

"We need Drifter!" shouted a woman in the crowd.

Dory looked at the crowd with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, but Master is still not healthy enough to make or fix boats. I'll do my best to repair your boats, but please be patient."

"Why be patient? Get Express!" A grim voice spoke over the crowd. The crowd turned around to see the same group of suited men stood behind them. All of them stood from the two shortest to the single tallest. They were all intimidating.

The crowd soon went silent. They all looked at the men in fear. The tallest of the men then spoke again. "Why don't you all go get new boats at one of the Express shops?" He said more demanding than asking. The crowd quickly dispersed not even minding leaving their broken boats.

Soon all who was left was Dory. They young lady glared back at the men defiantly. The men then walked up to Dory in a synchronized walk. Dory was not intimidated even when they were now only a foot away from her. Dory stared up at the man directly in front of her. "What do you want? We're closing."

The man was undeterred. "We have come to make sure there are not any…structure problems."

"There ain't any structure problems!" Dory turned to see Drifter, armed with his mallet, yelling at the men. "I built this shop with my own two hands, and not once have I ever had problems."

"Well, that is the thing, sir." The tallest man said emotionless. He and his men then stepped into the shop pushing Dory to the side. "There are always the small things that one overlooks."

"Get out of my shop!" shouted Drifter as he charged at the men swinging his mallet.

The short, suit man caught the mallet and then took it away from Drifter. The tallest suited man then grabbed the old man by his collar. "Master!" shouted Dory as she tried to come to her master's aid. She was quickly stopped by one of the medium-sized suited men.

"For instance, small pest make a few small holes." The large man said then threw Drifter at the wall. Drifter collided with the wall and broke a part of the wall.

"Master!" shouted Dory helplessly being held back by the man that grabbed her. "Leave him alone!"

The tallest man walked over to Drifter and looked down on the old man. "And sometimes, reckless behavior by customers." The other men soon began breaking small items, pictures, random wall decorations, and windows.

"No! Stop!" shouted Dory in tears as she was held by the medium-sized man.

Outside, a now larger crowd of people stood outside watching the men destroy the shop. They all wanted to do something, but none of them had the courage to stand up to those tough men. And even if they did, they were afraid of what would happen with the Express shops. Would they increase prices? Would they deny customers? None of them wanted to risk that for themselves or the town. They needed boats.

Back inside, one of the short men began dumping liquid around the shop, the tallest man soon took out a lit match. "And there are always a few fire hazards…" He then carelessly tossed the match and set fire to the shop.

"Stop it!" shouted Dory as tears fell. Her shouts fell on deaf ears.

Once the match hit the liquid everything caught on fire. The crowd outside gasped in shock seeing the Drifting Boat go up in flames. "Get out of the way!" shouted a voice as two people tried to push through the crowd.

The tallest man then grabbed the old man from out of the wall and exited the building. The other men soon followed with the one of the medium-sized men forcing Dory forward. The group walked onto the dock until they reached the near end. Right near where the last boat was currently docked. The men threw or pushed the two people onto the dock. "What do you say now? Are you willing to sell?"

Dory stared bitterly at the men. She tried to keep strong, but she could see the shop as it soon was engulfed in fire. She couldn't help but feel helpless. "Do your worst!" Dory turned to hear her master shout defiantly. She could tell he was in pain, but he still stood proud before the men. "A shop can be rebuilt!"

"That is true." The tallest man said agreeing with Drifter. He then turned to the boat. Drifter froze in fear. The tallest man then looked back at the old man. "But if one loses his stock…"

"Don't you dare touch that boat!" shouted Drifter angrily.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." The tallest man said as he raised his hand. One of the medium men then handed him a glass bottle with an unknown liquid inside and a piece of cloth coming out the bottle. Both Dory and Drifter understood what he was planning and gasped.

"No! Please! Don't destroy that boat!" shouted Dory desperately. "It's very important to Master! Please!"

"Stop!" shouted the townspeople as they watched the men from afar. "Don't do it!"

"Then he would be willing to sign over his property over to Mr. Yacht." The tallest man said looking at Drifter specifically. At the same time, the man held a lit match just a mere inches from lighting the Molotov. The old man stared at the man unable to speak. He was torn between either keeping his pride or his promise to his son.

"_I'm heading out, dad."_ A tall man with an average build waved off to Drifter, a younger Dory, and several of the townspeople. He had ear-length brown hair and wore a white headband much like his father. He waved to the group from a large ship, possibly a merchant ship heading for the mysterious Grand Line.

Everyone was wishing the young man much luck._ "Good luck, son! Make me proud. Show those big shots how great a ship builder someone from Port Town is!"_ shouted Drifter beaming with pride for his son.

Ketch laughed and continued to wave. _"I will dad! Take good care of that boat. I hope I can show you how much I've grown soon."_ That was the last thing Ketch said before his boat sailed off into the sea, where dreams or doom awaits the young man.

"A shop can be replaced…" said Drifter as his head sunk in defeat. "But there is only one boat in the world."

"Master…"

The tallest man smirked in victory. "Good, now let's sign those papers."

"Oi!" A shout caught the attention of everyone. Then a rock came flying past the men and broke through the Molotov. The liquid splashed over the tallest man and the lighted match fell upon him. The tallest man's side and arm caught on fire. He screamed out in pain, ran about in a panic, and jumped into the water nearby. After that display, the suited men and the Drifting Boats employees looked down the dock to see two young men standing in front of the burning shop. Ace and Taro glared at the suited men with a fury as intense as the fire behind them.

"Lay off the Mr. Drifter and Ms. Dory." Taro spoke anger seeping in his tone.

"You bastards are gonna pay." Ace said with a killer glare.

"Who are you punks!" shouted one of the medium-sized men as he and the rest of them grabbed their guns.

"We're the punks who want to buy that boat!" shouted Ace as he and Taro charged at the men without hesitation or fear.

* * *

At the end of the docks was the largest Express Boat shop, the original shop. Inside on the second floor of the building, Yacht sat in his comfy chair with his feet kicked out on the desk. Behind him was a window with a view of the ocean. A second window looked out down the dock. The businessman wore content smirk as he looked out the second window. He could see the smoke from a fire he suspected to be the Drifting Boat shop. "I told you I would do anything to get that property by any means necessary." Yacht said then going into a fit of laughter.

As Yacht continued to laugh there came a knock at his door. He quickly stopped laughing and regained his composure. "Y-Yes…come in."

The door opened to reveal the tallest of the suited men only he looked to be a mess. His suit was ruined with a combined damage of both fire and water. Not only that but he looked like he got squarely beaten. "Boss…"

"Geesh, man, I didn't think that old geezer and the girl would put up much of a fight." Yacht said unconcerned for the man's state. He then turned to look out the second window to see the fire and smoke, which seemed to have grown a little since last observed. "But you and your men did the job. Did he sign the papers?"

"Boss…" said the man again weakly.

"What? What is it?! Did he sign the papers or not?!" shouted Yacht frustrated with the man's repetitive response.

"Boss…" The man spoke one last time before he fell to the ground unconscious.

Yacht was gasped in shock. "What?!"

Standing behind the man stood Taro, looking a little bruised and scuffed up. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Drifter will not be selling at this or any point in the near future."

"Who are you?!" shouted Yacht in anger.

"A messenger…for the town of Port Town. And Mr. Drifter and Ms. Dory." Taro said coolly. "Your business is no longer required."

"What?!" shouted Yacht as he leaned over his desk.

"At the moment, your stores are being…downsized." Taro said having thought of a word best fitting the situation.

Further down the docks, Ace, who was also bruised and scuffed up, was throwing Molotov Cocktails at the Express shops. He had several in a bucket. Ace kept moving from building to building lighting a new Molotov and then throwing it at the shop. Each building quickly caught on fire. He wasn't the only one. Many of the people from the crowd were joining in. No Express shop would be safe this night in Port Town. Following Ace, Dory looked all this want and destruction in shock. "How can you do this so…freely?" asked Dory to Ace.

Ace through another Molotov before answering Dory with a grin. "I'm a pirate." He then moved on to the next one.

Dory was shocked. There then came a laughter from behind her. She turned to see Drifter wearing a grin and holding his mallet with the other suit-wearing men tied together and severely beaten up. The Drifting Boat was severely burnt, but much of the structure was still standing. "Let him be, Dory. Pirates make up half the shipping business anyway."

Dory looked at Drifter with her mouth agape. "You can't be serious…"

Drifter laughed. "As serious as this building is still standing." He then patted his burnt building. Instantly, the small shop crashed to the ground in a pile of burnt wood. Poor Drifter sighed in frustration. "Well, those brats were sure a big help."

"But all they wanted was the boat." Dory spoke pointing out Ace and Taro's flaw.

"True, but you gotta respect men with determination. It certainly spreads like fire." Drifter said with a smile speaking on how the townspeople finally fighting against Yacht's horrible business. The suited men soon groaned, but were swiftly silenced by a mallet to their heads. "Quiet you idiots!"

Dory sighed at her master's sudden 'flame of youth'.

Back at the big Express shop, Yacht looked out his window in complete shock. "My…my…my shops!"

"While I prefer a more…quiet method, it is nonetheless effective." Taro said to the panicked and shocked Yacht.

The man grinded his teeth seething in angry. He put his hand into his coat and slyly slid out a small gun. He then turned and pointed it at Taro. He glared at the young man with crazed look in his eye. "You bastard! You've ruined my Express Empire!"

"The only thing ruined was the boat industry in this area." Taro said affirmatively. He was not threatened by the gun and remained calm. He then cocked his fist back.

Yacht snickered. "What are you going to do from over there?"

"This…" Taro launched forward faster than Yacht could react. The man froze as he helplessly watched Taro's fist twist then collide with his face. "High Winds!"

Viewing from the outside, the glass window broke soon followed by a wind current with Yacht flying out. The man, having never fought in his life, was already knocked out flew into the ocean. Taro walked over to the broken window to check and see if his punch had done the job. When Yacht floated back up unconscious, Taro smiled in victory. "It is done."

"Yo!" A voice came from below. Taro looked down to see Ace grinning largely with a Molotov in his hand. "If you're done, can I set fire to this place?"

Taro sweat dropped upon hearing Ace's question. "No. While he was wrong to expand as much as he did and try to underhand his competition, we can't just destroy his lifestyle."

"But he makes his boats pretty shitty." Ace retorted smartly. Taro could not argue with him, but he refused to agree with the man's action.

* * *

In the morning, the local police had come to survey the damage. They even recovered Yacht and his men who were all tied up in front of the first and last Express shop. "Arrest them!" shouted Yacht motioning to the townspeople watching on. "They deliberately set fire to my establishments! I want them all to be arrested!"

"Really?" spoke one of the officers. He then brought up a note pad and looked off it. "Several eyewitnesses said it was…a disgruntled pirate who was refused service at all your shops."

"What?!" shouted Yacht.

"The weapon of choice was several Molotov Cocktails. Very old-fashion, but effective. Don't you think?" The officer said with a slight smile, maybe hinting on something. Yacht could not find words to describe his situation. The officer then looked his notes and was surprised by something written on. "And it says here you didn't insure any of the shops for fire damages. Bad move."

"Nooooooooo!" shouted Yacht in agony.

Near where the Drifting Boat shop used to stand, Dory watched as Ace and Taro fought each other in front of her. Neither man was letting. Ace got a good kick on Taro, but Taro quickly retaliated with an uppercut. "High Winds: Sky!" Not only did that punch send Ace up, but the he felt as if a wind current was also lifting him up.

As Ace looked down he found himself several feet in the air. Despite this, he grinned. "Punches that can send you flying…!" Ace said practically enthusiastic. He then started to fall.

Taro noticed and prepared for when Ace would come down. Ace had no fear when falling. Once Ace was close enough, Taro was about to give him a high heel kick. Ace saw this and quickly caught the leg as Taro was about to hit him, and thus stopping his fall. Taro was shocked to see Ace skillfully stop his fall, and Ace took advantage of his shock by sending swift kick to his head. With Ace letting go at just the right moment, Taro was sent hurdling off the dock and into the ocean. Ace then landed back on his feet. Taro soon emerged from the water. He was shocked, but he was also contented.

"I lose…" Taro said honorably.

A hand then stuck out to help Taro out of the water. It was Ace, and he wore a wide and victorious grin. "Sure seems that way…"

Taro smiled and took the hand. Ace easily got him back on deck. Taro then gave an honorable bow to Ace. "You have won the fight. The boat is yours."

"Thanks, friend. That was a great fight." Ace said as he raised his hand. Taro gracious accepted and the two men shook.

"Everything settled then?" Everyone looked off to the side towards the boat with a fire pattern design. Out came Drifter, looking better than ever, as he wore a smirk and still carried his mallet.

"Yes, Master." Dory said with a cheery smile. "It looks like Mr. Molotov gets the Boat."

"Mr. Molotov?" Ace said questioning his new nickname.

"Good!" said Drifter before he hoped off the boat – literally – and onto the dock. He then quickly walked over to Ace. As Ace stood before Drifter, the old man gave him a good bop on the head before speaking. "I now bequeath to you, this boat. May she carry far and wide on this vast ocean."

Ace rubbed his sore head before answering. "Yeah…thanks."

"What was that about?" asked Taro to Dory.

The young lady smiled. "That's kinda right-of-passage for those who buy from Drifting Boat. It's supposed to be good luck for the sailor or sailors who uses the boat."

"Interesting…"

"You're really giving me this ship?" asked Ace almost disbelieving what the old man was offering him.

"Yes. I've kept this ship around to remind me of my son. But I forgot a promise that I made with him. While taking care of a boat or ship is a shipwright's job, seeing that ship is with her owner and sailing the seas is the real care, not just letting sit at a dock unmanned and unused.

"And I can really have her for free?!" said Ace as he talked to Drifter.

The old man nodded with a content smile. "After what you for us last night, this is the least I can do for you. You, and your friend over there, have proven that you can care for a boat, and so I feel that it's only right to give it to one of you."

"What about rebuilding your shop." Ace asked as he looked at what was left of the old shop.

"Like I said, a shop can be rebuild. Plus I've got plenty of money now. I insured that old shop for fire damage. I'll enough to build a new shop, and buy materials to make boats."

Dory gasped in surprise. "Do you mean…"

"That's right, once the shop is set up, Drifting Boats will officially be taking in new orders." Drifter said affirmative. Ace and Taro smiled and were glad that the old man was feeling better.

Dory squealed in delight and hugged her master. The old man blushed as his head was touching her breasts. He also wore a very perverted smile. "I'm feeling as fit as a fiddle. Port Town hasn't seen the end for Drifting Boats!"

Ace sweat dropped seeing how that old man said his sentence. "Yeah, fit as a fiddle."

Soon, Ace had gather all his stuff and placed inside the cabin of the boat. It was a bit small, but he was content having a good boat like this one. Before setting off, there were still a few things left to do. "I christen thee…the Voyager Blaze!" shouted Ace as he broke champagne over the boat. Dory cheered while Drifter nodded in agreement. Taro smiled seemingly happy for his friend.

"Now that that's been settled." Ace turned to Taro with a grin. Taro looked at Ace confused. "I've decided…Taro, join my crew!"

Taro stared at Ace shocked. Those watching were just as surprised. "R…Really, me?" Taro said pointing at himself.

"I've seen you in action and you're strong. I'm gonna need a strong crew."

"I am honored, Ace." Taro said with a sad smile. "But I have my own goals to accomplish."

"You mean to 'travel the Grand Line and write a book on your adventures' and 'beat your brother'?" Ace said with a smile. Taro stared at Ace shocked. He was about to ask how he knew when Ace suddenly pulled out his little notebook. Taro quickly checked his bag to find that it was indeed his. "Sorry, but I was curious."

Ace then tossed the book back to Taro. He was a little confused on what to do. Not hearing a reply, Ace continued. "I'm heading to the Grand Line myself, ya know? Maybe not now or even a year from now, but eventually. Having someone reliable as well as a good sparring partner would workout in both our favors. What do you say?"

Taro didn't reply. He remained quiet as he thought over Ace's offer. Ace waited patiently to hear Taro's answer. Dory and Drifter remained quiet as well wondering if Taro would accept or not. Taro then began to chuckle. "I've never thought of being a pirate…"

Ace smiled. "Does that mean…?"

Taro smirked and stuck his hand out. "Consider me a member of your crew…captain."

"Good to have you aboard." Ace then shook Taro's hand officially welcoming him to his crew.

"In that case…" said Drifter as he walked over to the Taro. He then gave the man a quick bop to the head. Taro didn't seem to appreciate it despite the apparent luck it brought. Drifter then looked over to Ace. "Young man, you said you would be heading into the Grand Line?"

"Yeah…" replied Ace.

"If you see my son, tell him his old man is still waiting for him." Drifter said with a smile.

"You got it, gramps." Ace said confidently. Taro replied with a smile as he wrote in his little book.

Soon the two were off sailing being waved off by Dory and Drifter, who was simply watching with a pride. The two men waved at the two civilians as they left Port Town as pirates. Not too far away, Yacht saw the two men sailing out. He immediately pointed them out to the officers. "There! There they are! Arrest them!"

The officer looked away from conversing with his group to see what Yacht was talking about. When he saw the two men sailing away he simply laughed. "Sir, I understand that you have lost stock, but I am sure that is the boat old man Drifter has in his store. Huh? I never thought he'd sell Ketch's boat."

"No! They…"

"And also, the report said it was a lanky man with an unusual hairstyle, a ridiculous purple outfit, and freckles." Yacht gasped as the description of him minus the freckles. Off to side listening, a number of townspeople were snickering.

Back out to sea, Taro asked his new captain a question. "So, where do we go next, captain?"

Standing at the front of the Voyager Blaze, Ace looked out towards the sea with a grin. "To wherever the wind takes us!"

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere in the East Blue, a large ship was under attack by pirates. The whole ship was on fire with people screaming and running. Ruthless pirates were ransacking everything. As people ran towards the boats, one lone girl seemed to disregard where the people were heading. She had a slender body, but her hips were much wider than the average woman. And without a single eyewitness to see her, she jumped off the huge ship. She landed in the ocean unharmed and swam back up. When she surfaced she looked back. She could see two ships, one large that belonged to the pirates and the other a huge ship that belonged to none other than a World Noble. The girl breathed quickly as she watched the largest ship, but her eyes did not have the look of sorrow.

The young woman smiled then she started to giggle and then she began to fully laugh out loud. The young woman sounded positively ecstatic.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

* * *

**Author's Note: Yo! I hope you enjoyed the end of the first arc - Ace's Romance Dawn. Taro is a good addition to the crew and has much to offer. Including an interesting brother...for a later time. Now, I would like to interest you all with fun facts for this arc.  
**

**Fun Facts:**

**The character names for this arc excluding Taro are named after boats. Dory, Drifter, Yacht, and Ketch are different boats.**

**A Molotov Cocktail is no good to drink. It is a dangerous weapon. A glass bottle, some combustible liquids, and a cloth wick are what make one. Just light the wick on fire and then throw it at the intended target. Do not try this at home.**

**The Men of D. seem to have narcolepsy, especially those related to or adopted by the Monkey family. With the possible exception of Dragon. **

**Drifter's appearance is based off the prototype shipwright for the Straw Hats. He was a midget carpenter  
**

**I hope you have enjoyed these fun facts. Until next time! Ja Ne!**


	3. The Mysterious, Stubborn Girl

**Author's Note: We now enter a new arc! Who was that mysterious girl from before? Let's find out!**

**Remember, read, reveiw, re-ACTION!**

* * *

**One Piece: ASL Pirates Special**

**Episode of Ace**

It was nighttime. The town streets, whatever town it was, was practically empty. Only a few lights were on, most being lampposts but even those were few in number. There was only one person out, an old drunkard, as he bumbled down the street in a drunk stupor. The old man sang drunk with a smile on his face.

"Making a Delivery~, Bringing it across the sheash!" The old drunkard happily sang with a slur. "Bink's shakay in the hold as we shail through the breeze~"

Running down a street, a cloaked figure was running as fast as possible. The figure looked over their shoulder. The figure couldn't see anything, but the figure definitely heard someone speak. "Keep searching for her."

She clenched her teeth and turned her head forward. She began to run faster until…

"Fhar across the eye can shee, the sun is shining merri-Wow!" The old drunkard collided with the cloaked figure. Both of them fell to ground. The old drunkard shouted, "Whatcha' where yous going, yous…"

The old drunkard held his tongue as he caught sight of who bumped into him. While he could not see her face, not like her cared, but the woman's body he could see clear as day. She was a small and slender woman, maybe no more than a girl, but she a good size bust. What caught his sights immediately was her hips as they were bigger for a girl her size. Unnoticed by the man was that the girl wore a ripped, dirtied, white sleeved shirt and loose shorts. The man's frown soon turned into a drunk smile as he spoke to her, "Shorry, ma'am. But yous looks prettiful…"

"Did you hear something?" shouted a different voice coming from the same direction as the other one.

The teen broke into a cold-sweat. "Excuse me!" The young teen said as she quickly got up and ran off.

The old drunk turned on his side looking at the girl longingly. However as he watched her run off he noticed something off. "Do girls haves such pales, grays skins? And stripes?" asked the old drunk to himself. As he tried to think about it, he soon fell to the ground having passed out.

The girl paid no mind to this. She just kept running into the dark part of the city. Who is she, and who is she running from?

* * *

The Mysterious, Stubborn Girl

Enter the Bounty Hunters: Ernest and Bart

* * *

From Port Town, Ace with his first crew member Taro traveled towards their next island. It would take them several days to reach, but with their new boat, the Voyager Blaze, the trip went without a hitch. The boat was a true work of its craftsman. Ace and Taro soon landed on the island where lay Black Town, the underworld capital of the East Blue. Travelers better be wary for they may find that just more than their wallets and purses stolen. Here many pirates of the East Blue gather to trade stories, bust some heads, and share a good laugh. This was the unfortunate and unplanned destination of Ace and Taro.

At the docks, nestled between two very large ships, Ace and Taro docked their boat. As they did so, they seem to be in argument. "You're awful luck has gotten us to a very dangerous place, captain." Taro said the 'captain' part full of sarcasm. He was currently dropping the anchor.

"Quit complaining!" shouted Ace annoyed. He then jumped off the boat and onto the dock. "This is great! I mean, this town was practically made for us."

"This town is completely lawless. So much so many marine ships don't even come here." Taro said grimly.

Ace just grinned. "Perfect! We can really mingle in with the other pirates. Have some lunch, pick a few fights, and really make a name for us."

Taro sighed as his palm came to his face. "And how do you suggest we pay for lunch now?"

Ace cupped his chin in thought. "As your captain, I order you to hand over all cash that you have." Ace said mock seriously.

"Screw off." Taro said very seriously. Taro then jumped onto the docks as well.

"You think the Voyager will be fine?" asked Ace sounding a little worried.

Taro shook his head. "Unless we do something to piss someone off, no one would think of anything from such a small boat."

"If you think so…" They two then turned and walked into town.

As they entered the town they took a quick glance around. The buildings looked abandoned. The windows dirtied and cracked. Door, if the buildings had doors, were destroyed or just barely on their hinges. If people lived in any of these buildings it was only shown through random homey touches. Pavement was cracked. Potholes littered the streets. Lampposts were broken or missing. But as bad as the sights were the sounds were just as bad. Gun shots could be heard in the distance, screams littered the streets, and laughter was everywhere.

As Ace and Taro walked onto the plaza, they could see where all these sounds were coming from. In the plaza droves of pirate men and even some women were gallivanting and causing mayhem everywhere they went. Taro was hardly impressed. Ace looked excited. "Man! Look at everyone go!"

"Do people even live here?" asked Taro rhetorically as he watched some pirate enter a house through a window. Ironically, a few seconds later the same pirate flew out of the door.

"Come on! Let's go get something to eat!" Ace said with excitement as he bravely wanted out into the middle of the street. Taro soon followed suit.

The two soon found a bar, the formally Good Companions now the Dead Pirates. "This place looks promising." Ace said fearlessly and with a grin.

"What's your logic in that?" asked Taro.

"It's the loudest." Ace then walked into the tavern. Taro followed shaking his head in light frustration.

The two teens entered the establishment. Like Ace said it was loud especially on the inside. No one was interested in the two newcomers and kept to their business. Ace was certainly impressed by the crowd's attitude. "They're certainly confident…"

Taro paid no mind as he looked through the crowd looking for somewhere to sit. He soon spotted something and nudged Ace. "Over there." Taro pointed out a few open seats at the bar.

Ace nodded in agreement and the two soon grabbed them. They were surprise to see no one at the bar. Other pirates seem to be getting drinks from somewhere. Eventually, someone came out from the back. She was a young girl, a younger than either Ace or Taro, with short, orange hair and light brown eyes. "Hello, can I take your order?"

"Yeah…two drinks please." Ace ordered politely.

"Alright, anything to eat?"

"We'll just have drinks until we decide on something." Ace replied. The server smiled as she held her hand out. Both Ace and Taro looked at the girl confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The barmaid apologized. "Bar policy, you have to pay before you get your meal."

"Alright…" Ace said as he dug into his pocket. He then brought out his money. "Will this be enough?"

"Only for one…"

Ace looked over at Taro. The man understood what Ace was implying and he too dug into his pocket and brought his money out. The young girl smiled and took their money. "Thank you, your order will be out soon." The server then walked off smiling deviously unseen by Ace and Taro.

"She was rather cute…" Taro said out of the blue.

Ace just shrugged. "Yeah..."

As the two waited for their food they continued to watch the commotion that went through the tavern. As the watched Taro soon spotted that there was someone nearby. Sitting on the other side of Ace, and looking as if intentionally separated from everyone, a cloaked figure stared down at a mug. It was curious as it seemed that most people in the bar were rather boisterous about their presence in this establishment. This person just seemed to want to attract as little attention as possible Of course, it wasn't any of his concern. He looked back at his captain as he listened in at others at the bar.

"Hey…did you hear? Apparently the marines caught Kuro 'of a Thousand Plans'." One pirate said to another.

The other pirates gasped. "What? No way! That cunning bastard was always ahead of those marine dogs."

"Hey, anything about that Arlong fellow?" Turning around, some pirates at a table were conversing about another subject.

One of the pirates at the table looked at the other with fear. "Him?! You don't want mess with him. He's a fishman, him and his crew. They'll destroy any ship that can't pay them."

"Gyahahahaha! What flashy idiot thinks they can take me!"

"You dare challenge me, Clown!"

Ace and Taro turned as they heard two pirates shouting at each other. They were two very familiar pirates to those reading. Buggy 'the Clown' laughed like a lunatic while 'Foul Play' Don Krieg looked ready to punch the laughing clown. Backing them up were their crews, the most noteworthy were Cabaji and Mohji for Buggy and Gin and Pearl for Krieg. Luckily, it only seem to be an exchange of words as Krieg and Buggy repeatedly shouted insults and boasts at each other.

Taking up a whole booth, 'Iron Mace' Alvida, who at this point is 'Damn!' fat, watched the exchange with an annoyed expression. "Those unruly men are being too loud! If they don't shut up soon…" Alvida grabbed her mace and banged it hard on the floor.

Ace chuckled. "Looks like no takes shit for anything." Taro rolled his eyes. Ace laughed and spun in his chair unintentionally. When he stopped spinning he caught sight of the cloaked person just down the bar from him.

"Hey friend, why so quiet?" asked Ace over to the person. The cloaked figure flinched and turned away from Ace. He was very surprised to see this. He scooted a few seats closer. "Hey buddy, you okay?"

The cloaked figure refused to look at Ace, but did reply. "Y…Yes…"

"You sure…" Ace then eyed the mug in front of the figure. "You haven't touched your mug…"

"It's empty…" stated the figure.

Ace then picked the mug and looked inside it. He then held the mug upside down. "I don't think it was ever filled."

"Someone just gave it to me…" The figure said solemnly.

"Ace…don't go bothering others." Taro said warningly.

"Hey! I'm not bothering him." Ace said stubbornly.

"Yes, you are, idiot captain." Taro retorted harshly. A tick mark appeared on Ace showing his slowly growing anger with his crew mate.

Then there suddenly came two loud bangs. The whole tavern went quiet and everyone looked towards the front. Ace soon forgot his anger. He and Taro both looked towards the front as well. The two doors were wide open with two men standing in them. Both were wrapped in a brown cloak covering much of their body, but their faces were not covered like the person Ace was talking to. Both were men, one had short, light brown hair with facial hair styled as 'The Zorro' and the other long, chin-length, black hair with a tattoo 'Target' with a target in between the 'r' and 'g'. The first had a very hypocritical expression while the other seem overly happy with his creepy grin. The two soon began walking towards the bar. There was a small clang with each step they took. Everyone watched them every step until they reached the bar.

At this point, a man that looked like the bartender came out from the back. He addressed the two men. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

The first man spoke. "Yes, one water and…"

"Have you seen this brat?!" The second man shouted with a strange sense of excitement as he slammed a piece of paper onto the counter. The other man sighed at his partner's action

The bartender flinched just a bit before taking a look at the paper. "Sorry, haven't seen anyone like that around here…"

"Thank…"

"Then bring me a beer!" replied the man interrupting his partner. His partner glared at him with disdain.

"C-Coming right up…" said the bartender as he went to fix their drinks.

The two men then took their seats at the bar right next to where Taro was sitting. Taro had watched the two with interest. _'They don't look like the pirate types…'_ Taro thought having observed how all the pirates in the bar went quiet.

Ace whispered to Taro. "Who are those guys?"

"No clue…" Taro replied quietly.

Ace turned and was about to ask the other person if they knew. He was surprised to find the figure gone. Ace immediately started looking around wondering where the person went. "Where'd he go?"

"Oi! You!" Ace and Taro turned as they heard someone speak up loudly. A random pirate with five o'clock shadow marched his way up to the two men. He looked incredibly pissed. "What are you doing here, bounty hunter?!"

"Bounty hunter?" Ace and Taro repeated surprised then looked at the two men.

The first man sighed. "Look…we are only searching for this child…" The man tabbed the picture on the counter. "We mean none of you pirates any harm."

"That's a load of bull if I've ever heard some!" shouted the pirate shrewdly. "We all know who you are… 'Noblemen's Knight' Ernest and 'Trigger-Happy' Bart…"

The first man, Ernest, sighed. "You shouldn't have said that word…"

"What…?" **BANG!**

Everyone was shocked when suddenly the man, named Bart, suddenly shot the pirate through his cloak. Taro and Ace immediately backed away from the two bounty hunters. At the same time, every pirate stood up feeling a fight may just begin. Only Buggy, Krieg, and Alvida did not stand and watched on cautiously. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Bart smirked as he turned around and stood before his victim, now on the ground clutching his wound on his side. He spoke to his partner, "Hey, does this bastard as a bounty?"

Ernest took out a bunch of papers and began to quickly go through them. "Nope, his picture is not in here."

Bart's smirk turned into a sadistic grin. "Neat! That means I can kill him."

Ernest sighed. "If you must…"

"Whoa!" shouted Taro as he approached the man carefully. "You don't need to do that, why not just let bygones be bygones, ne? I mean, it's not like he did anything."

Once Taro had finished his speech he soon saw that there was a gun, a small pistol, pointed at him. Ace shouted. "Oi!"

"Can I kill him?" said Brat still smiling sadistically.

Ace quickly stood next to Taro. "I'll beat the crap out of you if you try."

"And we'll do the same." Gathering before the group was a large group of pirates all with five o'clock shadows, mostly likely the crew of the man Bart shot. None of the other pirates moved from their spots.

It almost seemed like a standoff. Ace and Taro did not back down. Neither did Bart and the group of pirates. Ernest seemed to also be readying to fight as he grabbed something underneath his cloak. Everything was quiet. No one dared move or be attacked. Until, suddenly a chair came flying at Krieg. The man didn't see it coming until the last minute. Though it was painful, Krieg quickly recovered and shouted out. "Who threw that chair?! I'll kill him!"

And everything went to hell. Everyone was fighting everyone else. The staff immediately ducked into the kitchen. A pirate brawl was no place for regular folk. Amongst the fighting, Ace and Taro were also fighting. The two easily handled anyone that came their way knocking them out with their fists. "Alright! A brawl!" Ace was rather excited for the commotion. Taro simply took the fight seriously.

As Ace punched another pirate, he caught sight of the entrance. He saw the cloaked person he had been talking to earlier. He watched as the figure quickly slipped out of the building. "Hey…" Ace said with interest.

He then leaned over to Taro as he knocked out another pirate. "I'm stepping out for a bit…"

"What?" Taro looked over to Ace confused. Unfortunately, Ace was already out of sight. "Dammit!" Taro then gave a random pirate a good punch across the face.

From out of the bar, the cloaked figure ran into an empty alley. She hid behind a stake of crates. The person was breathing heavily as if panicked. The person leaned against the wall as her breathing calmed. "…That was close…"

"What was close?" The figure shot straight up in shock. Ace appeared right from behind the crates looking curious. Ace was a little surprised to see the full body of the figure. "Oh, you're a girl…" Seeing the figures face for the first time, it was delicate and oval shaped with a small button-nose. Her large blue eyes had vertical slit pupils. Her hair was a blue-greyish color and it looked long and uncut.

The girl leaned up against the wall. She looked like a cornered animal. "W-W-W-What are you doing here?!"

"Stripes?" Ace said curiously as he saw the figures grey pale skin and what looked like stripes on her legs.

The figure soon noticed her cover off. She quickly covered herself. "What do you want?" The girl said angrily.

"To be frank, to ask why you'd throw that chair at the armored guy?" asked Ace.

The girl froze in shock, and Ace noticed this. Quickly, she put up an emotional defensive wall. "It's none of your business." The female figure said abrasively.

"Well, I was gonna say thanks." Ace spoke with a smile. The girl looked up at him surprised. "That guy was nuts. Thanks to that little uproar, Taro doesn't have a hole in him."

"Isn't he still in there?"

"Yeah, but he'll be fine." Ace chuckled without worry. "By the way, my name is Portgas D. Ace."

"Whatever…I didn't do it for you two." Ace frowned at the girl. She was acting quite abrasive towards him. The girl then stood up straight and began to walk away from Ace. "Don't bother with me, I'm nothing but trouble." She said to Ace as she left.

"You certainly are, Jamie Cuvier" The girl froze. She and Ace turned around to see Ernest, calm and posed, at the other end of the alley. Neither of his arms showing making Ace a little nervous.

Bart appeared next to him, looking a little ruffed up. He wore a sadistic smile as he continued off his partner. "But I like trouble. So thanks for that."

"You guys?" Ace questioned confused. Ace heard a gasp and looked back at the girl, Jamie Cuvier. He saw she was afraid of the men.

"You will be coming with us, little girl." Ernest spoke as he stuck his hand out as if beckoning her to come.

"Never!" Jamie shouted before taking off down the alley. Unfortunately, she didn't go far.

**Bang!** Jamie was shot through the shoulder. "I love it when they try to run." Bart grinned happily. Again, another hole was made in his cloak.

"Oi!" Ace shouted as he got between the two bounty hunters and Jamie. "What the hell?!"

Ernest spoke, "Move along, boy, this doesn't concern you." He and Bart then started walking towards the girl.

"Actually, it does!" shouted Ace as he readied to fight.

The two bounty hunters stopped and looked at the teen with interest. "Really?" Bart said with a sly smile.

"Yeah! You don't go around shooting people! Especially when they are talking!"

"Who cares!" shouted Bart.

He was about to do something underneath his cloak before Ernest stuck out his hand. "Hold on, Bart. I think you've wasted enough of your bullets today."

"What!"

Ernest ignored his partner's whining and addressed Ace. "Look, that girl has a bounty on her and wanted alive."

"She does?" Ace said as he looked back at the girl. Jamie was clutching her shoulder and looking back towards the men with a deadly glare. He then looked back at the bounty hunters. "Why?"

"She's a-"

"Don't!" Jamie shouted interrupting Ernest.

Bart laughed. "Don't get all high and mighty, girly. Property has no say."

The girl was speechless. Ace looked at Bart confused. "Property?"

"Yes…" nodded Ernest and stepped forward carefully. "Now let's-"

"Screw off!" shouted Ace surprising Ernest. "I'm not letting you touch her."

Jamie looked up at Ace in shock and awe.

Ernest sighed in defeat. Bart chuckled. "Great! Now…"

Before he could speak, the wall burst open with a few pirates crashing out. The random explosion took the bounty hunters by surprise. They were swept away by the debris and people. Coming out of the hole was Taro looking pretty angry. Ace chuckled, "Ah! There you are Taro."

"Captain…" Taro said looking at Ace in contempt.

"Here, help me out with her." Ace said as he looked back over to Jamie. Taro looked as well looking very curious.

From under the pile of defeated and nameless pirates, Ernest and Bart knocked the unconscious pirates off them. "That kid has the Devil's luck…" grumbled Bart mad. He then turned, and probably attempt a fight, when he saw neither Ace nor the girl. "Dammit! They escaped!"

Ernest sighed. "She certainly makes our job harder…" While Bart cussed up a storm and kicked crates, Ernest thought to himself on how to deal with their situation. But between the loud cursing of his partner and the loud pirate brawl going on inside… Ernest had a thought. "Hold on…"

As Bart released another string of curses, he saw his partner walk back into the bar. "Hey, partner, whatcha doin'?"

Ernest turned to his partner with an ingenious grin. "Recruiting…"

* * *

Somewhere in the village, Ace and Taro with the latter carrying Jamie. The girl clutched onto her wound with one hand while she used the other to give directions. "Turn left here…"

The men listened and immediately followed her directions. "So…where are we going?" asked Taro to the girl.

"I guess…my place…sorta." Jamie grumbled in an uncaring tone.

"Sorta?" repeated Taro confused. "Shouldn't we go to a hospital?"

"Take a right…it should be around there." Jamie said continuing her directions and ignoring Taro's question.

Ace and Taro turned the corner, but stopped when they were meet with a large wood fence. "Is it on the other side?" asked Ace.

"Put me down…" Jamie asked to her carrier.

"You sure?" asked Taro. Jamie silently nodded. Taro then proceeded let the girl down though still worried.

The girl walked over to the wood fence. She pushed on a section of the fence and it opened like a door. Both Ace and Taro were surprised and soon followed her. "A hideout?" questioned Ace as they entered.

"Sorry if it's not homey." Jamie said sarcastically.

"Actually…" Taro said as he noticed how well certain aspects of the hideout were made. From the door that only the girl knew to the small shack with a nice looking bed to even the small half made boat. Taro was very impressed. "It's nicer than I expected."

"Yeah! Not even my old hideout was pretty crappy looking." Ace said also impressed.

"Um, thanks." Jamie said a bit surprised. She then began digging around in a chest that was at the foot of the bed.

"How did you get all this stuff?" Taro asked suspiciously.

"I made everything." Jamie said as she brought out a bag. "I was…kinda taught how to build stuff by my dad."

"Wow! Seriously? That's pretty cool." Ace said even more impressed. Taro was just as impressed.

Jamie didn't say anything as she sat on her bed. She removed a part of her cloak to reveal her wound in her shoulder. Both Ace and Taro took great interest in the girl's body, and not the typical kind. "I knew I saw stripes!" Ace pointed out bluntly.

"Are you…sick?" asked Taro concerned.

"No! Haven't you jerks ever seen a Fishman before?" Jamie shouted at the men.

"Oh…" Ace and Taro said surprised.

Jamie began grumbling as she opened her bag. She took out taking medical equipment. At least, that's what it looked like. The material looked pretty crummy. Before she could begin to work, Taro placed a hand on her. She looked up to see him. "You shouldn't treat bullet wounds by yourself. You should go to a hospital or clinic."

"I can do this!" Jamie shouted as she brushed Taro's hand off rudely. She then calmed down as she took out a pair of tweezers. "I'm not going to a hospital…"

"Why so against help?" asked Ace becoming concerned.

"I don't need it." Jamie said stubbornly as she stuck the tweezers into her bullet. She grunted in pain, but endured. Ace and Taro winced in agony. Jamie soon got the bullet out and tossed off to the side. As she breathed out in relief, she looked at the guys with a tired but victorious smile. "See…I'm fine."

"Clearly…" Taro said with disapproval.

"Whatever…Get out!" Jamie shouted rudely. She then began wrapping her wound up.

"Why are those guys after you?" Ace asked out of the blue. Jamie looked at Ace shocked. Ace continued, "You don't seem like a pirate or some criminal, so why are two bounty hunters after you."

"None of your business!" shouted Jamie becoming increasingly angry with her guests.

Ace didn't like her attitude. "Hey! I'm just asking 'cause it looks like you need help!"

"I. Don't. Need. Help." Jamie stated clearly and stubbornly as she stood up

"Ace…" Taro said warningly.

"Come on! That Bart guy looks crazy! And I don't even know about his partner. Let us help you." Ace said in frustration taking a step forward.

Jamie stood up losing her cloak in the process. She too stepped towards Ace. "Leave me alone! I'm pretty good at dodging them."

"Yeah, like in the alley?" Ace retorted back stepping forward again.

"It was because of you!" shouted Jamie stepping forward as well. At this point, they were now just staring at each other with only a few inches between.

Taro soon took action. "Calm down guys…" Taro went to stop either one of them. As he approached Jamie, he noticed something on her back.

Jamie noticed him and turned her back away from Taro. The action surprised the teen. Jamie growled, "…Just leave…"

"Why so defensive?" Ace said as he too tried to see what was on her back.

Jamie's rage had reached its point. She suddenly got into stance and punched Ace then Taro quickly. Both teens crashed through wood fence. Neither one of them knew what hit them. After landing on the ground – hard – the two looked back at Jamie shocked. The girl was breathing heavily once again and her wound began bleeding even more. She looked to be calming down, but she was still angry. "…Leave me alone. I don't need anyone…" She then turned and grabbed her half made boat. She then left going the opposite way of the guys.

"Geesh, what's her problem." Ace asked lifting his sore body up.

Taro soon sat up. "Just forget about her…she obviously doesn't want help." Ace sighed and grabbed his hat that had fallen off. The two guys soon left Jamie's little hideout.

Jamie continued to storm away from her hideout. "Who does that guy think he is?" Jamie shouted to herself expressing her rage.

"_Wow! Seriously? That's pretty cool."_ Jamie remembered when Ace had been amazed at her handiwork. She immediately started to calm down. Her pace also reflected her calming.

'_How long had it been since someone actually complimented me…'_ Jamie thought to herself starting to feel a little guilty. She placed hand over her shoulder, the one that was wounded, clutching her blood-stained shirt along with her skin. She felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"Better stop the bleeding first." Jamie said as she let go of her boat and went back to get her medical stuff.

Ace and Taro walked down the street, different from where they were with Jamie. Ace looked rather grumpy about something. Taro inquired, "Why are you so mad?"

"I don't know… I just don't like abandoning Jamie to her own devices." Ace answered sounding frustrated.

"What can you do? She was very stubborn about not wanting help."

"Why was she so stubborn anyways?" Ace asked out of the blue. "I mean, I could understand the first aid stuff. But what was with her back?"

"Have to agree, that was kind of strange."

"Maybe it's a Fishman thing…"

As Ace and Taro walked down the street neither of them noticed the looks they were getting from everyone. They all looked to be pirates. Soon, one by one, the pirates began following behind Ace and Taro. By this point, the two teens did notice how everyone was acting. Right as they stopped, they were surrounded by pirates. The two looked at the pirates sensing their bloodlust. "Can we help you?" asked Taro on edge.

One of the men shouted, "Where is the girl?!"

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


End file.
